Airbnb Has an…Interesting New Logo

Travel rental site Airbnb has a whole new look and symbol—that may or may not resemble a paper clip. Or a body part. Is this the iPad problem all over again?

Travel rental site Airbnb—the company that lets you stay in someone’s home without feeling creepy about it—has unveiled a major rebrand, complete with a new logo that has the interweb buzzing. Tweeting.Blogging. What do you think? Does it look like a paper clip? A body part? Is this the iPad problem all over again?

As Fast Company reported earlier today, the new look is meant to be more welcoming than the original logo, which defaulted in a way to tech start-up cliché: lowercase font, “cool, corporate blue color.”

Airbnb sums it up in the promotional video below: “Airbnb stands for something much bigger than travel. We imagine a world where you can belong anywhere. This needs its own symbol. One that can be drawn by anyone and recognized anwhere. It’s a symbol of belonging. We call it the Bélo.” There you have it.